Accumulating evidence suggests that subjective cognitive complaints (SCC) may indicate subtle cognitive decline characteristic of individuals with preclinical Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this study, we sought to build upon previous studies by associating SCC and amyloid-β deposition using Positron Emission Tomography with Pittsburg Compound B (PiB-PET) in cognitively normal older individuals. One-hundred thirty one subjects (mean age 73.5 ± 6) were administered three subjective cognitive questionnaires and a brief neuropsychological battery. A relationship between a subjective memory complaints composite score and cortical PiB binding was found to be significant, even after controlling for depressive symptoms. By contrast, there were no significant relationships between objective cognitive measures of memory and executive functions and cortical PiB binding. Our study suggests that SCC may be an early indicator of AD pathology detectable prior to significant objective impairment.

Objective To evaluate the performance characteristics of florbetapir F 18 PET in patients with Alzheimer’s disease dementia (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and healthy control subjects (HC). Methods Florbetapir PET was acquired in 184 subjects (45 AD, 60 MCI, and 79 HC) within a multi-center phase 2 study. Amyloid burden was assessed visually and quantitatively and classified as positive or negative. Results Florbetapir PET was visually rated amyloid positive in 76% of AD, 38% of MCI and 14% of HC. 84% of AD, 42% of MCI, and 23% of HC were classified as amyloid positive using a quantitative threshold. Amyloid positivity and mean cortical amyloid burden were associated with age and APOE ε4 carrier status. Interpretation The data are consistent with expected rates of amyloid positivity among individuals with clinical diagnoses of AD and MCI, and indicate potential value of florbetapir F 18 PET as an adjunct to clinical diagnosis.

Objective We hypothesized that vascular amyloid contributes to chronic brain ischemia, therefore amyloid burden measured by Pittsburgh Compound B retention on PET (PiB-PET) would correlate with the extent of MRI white matter hyperintensities (WMHor leukoaraiosis) in patients with high vascular amyloid deposition (Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy, CAA) but not high parenchymal amyloid deposition (Alzheimer’s Disease, AD; Mild Cognitive Impairment, MCI) or healthy elderly (HE). Methods Fourty-two non-demented CAA patients, 50 HE subjects and 43 AD/MCI patients had brain MRI and PiB-PET. Multivariate linear regression was used to assess the independent association between PiB retention and WMD volume controlling for age, gender, apolipoprotein E genotype, and vascular risk factors within each group. Results CAA patients were younger than HE and AD (68±10 vs 73.3±7 and 74±7.4, p<0.01) but had higher amounts of WMH (medians: 21ml vs 3.2ml and 10.8ml respectively, p<0.05 for both comparisons). Global PiB retention and WMH showed strong correlation (rho=0.52, p<0.001) in the CAA group but not in HE or AD. These associations did not change in the multivariate models. Lobar microbleed count, another marker of CAA severity also remained as an independent predictor of WMH volume. Interpretation Our results indicate that amyloid burden in CAA subjects (with primarily vascular amyloid) but not AD subjects (with primarily parenchymal amyloid) independently correlate with WMH volume. These findings support the idea that vascular amyloid burden directly contributes to chronic cerebral ischemia and highlights the possible utility of amyloid imaging as a marker of CAA severity.